Binghamton Chamber taps Duncan as new leader in alliance with the Agency

DICKINSON, N.Y. — The woman who leads The Agency, Broome County’s lead economic-development organization, will soon have some additional responsibilities.

The Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce has announced Stacey Duncan will serve as its new president and CEO, beginning Nov. 1.

The announcement also signals the formation of a new “strategic leadership alliance” between the Binghamton Chamber and the Agency, as Duncan will retain the role of executive director for the Agency and serve as chief executive of the Chamber, per a news release posted Wednesday on the Agency’s website.

Peter Newman, regional president of M&T Bank and chairman of the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce board of directors, and his fellow board members announced Duncan as the new president on Wednesday.

“This is a great day for the members of our Chamber of Commerce and for our community, as the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce and the Agency demonstrate our commitment to effective and efficient leadership,” Newman said. “Stacey is a highly respected and talented leader within our business community who has demonstrated an ability to lead collaborative efforts. We are extremely fortunate to have her leading the Chamber and the Agency.”

The new relationship is “not a merger” of the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce and the Agency, per the release.

Each organization will remain a separate corporation with its own governing board. Both nonprofits felt that the timing was right for a stronger strategic partnership among the two organizations.

Through this leadership alliance, Duncan will serve as the administrative link between the two boards of directors, which will remain independent and autonomous.

The Greater Binghamton Chamber has been without a chief executive since July after the departure of Jennifer Conway. Besides Duncan, the Binghamton Chamber has announced Amy Shaw has been promoted to the newly created position of COO and Judi Hess has been promoted to senior VP for Visit Binghamton and the Welcome Center.

 “I am especially thrilled and honored to be chosen to lead this new and dynamic alliance and commend both Boards for having this vision,” Duncan said. “My main objective will be to articulate the shared missions and value that these organizations bring to our community and to position Broome County as a more powerful player in economic development outside of Broome. We are so much stronger together and I am eager to get started with both of these outstanding teams.”

Duncan is “not a stranger” to chamber of commerce work. She served as the government-relations manager from 1998 to 2000 when she left to join the administration of the late Jeffrey Kraham, a former Broome County executive. Duncan resumed that role in 2009 and held it until 2014 when she left to serve as the first executive director of the Broome County Land Bank.

Duncan assumed the deputy director role at the Agency in 2015 before the board selected her to become its current executive director in back in April.

The Agency and the Greater Binghamton Chamber both operate at Five South College Drive in the town of Dickinson, on the SUNY Broome Community College campus.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com